My Weight Loss Journey

Today I tried the Body by Vi shake for the first time. I have the sweet cream flavor, which is delicious as ice cream so I had high expectations.

I mixed two scoops of the powder (which was probably about equal to a regular scoop of protein powder) with a cup of 2% milk and a cup of frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries). Honestly it’s not bad. If anything I’d say it’s a little sweet but it’s great with the tart berries. It reminds me of the Sinless Sans-Fat Sweet Cream ice cream mixed with raspberries that I get from Coldstone.

Now I used 2% because it’s what I have, I plan on switching to fat free tomorrow but the grocery store was out today. Assuming you use fat free milk, nutritionally speaking, one shake has 260 calories, 14g of sugar, 1g of fat and 21g of protein. That’s really not bad for a meal. If I were to use my normal protein shake in place of the Vi powder, we’d be looking at 310 calories, 15g sugar, 2g fat, and 26g of protein. The protein shake would have more protein but more calories, so I guess if you’re exercising more, the protein shake would be good, if you’re not exercising as much, the Vi shake is good.

I feel obligated to mention, this protein shake I use normally is something I use because it’s inexpensive (about $15 for a 2lb container at Walmart) while still being pretty good for you. Another brand I use which is a little more costly is Designer Whey, which is practically the same as the Vi powder nutritionally. You can find it at Trader Joe’s for about $12 for a 12oz container. Body By Vi seems to mainly be sold through independent consultants so it’s hard to get a definite price. Additionally, it’s also often sold in “kits” which include a variety of other things along with the shake powder. However, based on a couple different websites I looked at, the average price seems to be about $99 for a month supply.

So for the thrifty dieter, you’re looking at the following prices (for powders alone, not for add-ins like fruit or milk):

Body By Vi: $1.65 per serving

Body Fortress: $0.63 per serving

Designer Whey: $1.00 per serving

Based on what I’ve seen, I wouldn’t say Body By Vi is really worth the money. However, since I already have my free sample I’m going to give it two weeks and see how well it works in comparison with two more weeks on my regular protein shake. If it really blows my mind then it’s worth the money. If not, I’m going to stick with what I’ve got.

I’ve heard of “Body By Vi” but I never bothered looking into it – there are a lot of weight loss program challenges out there and they’re all pretty expensive. But completely by chance I won a two-week supply, so I looked into it and figured it would be worth a shot.

The idea is to have two nutritional shakes a day, a modest meal and two healthy snacks. Frankly, if you stick to that plan with any healthy protein shake you’re bound to lose weight, right? So I don’t know what’s so special about Vi. It boasts that it contains a LOT of protein/iron/other vitamins that you’d have to pay over $100 to get from food, but the same can be said about a multivitamin, which I take daily.

So I’m going to see if this is anything special. I’m going to try the Body By Vi shakes for two weeks, then I’m going to replace the Vi shakes with my regular protein shakes for two weeks, then compare at the end which one is better.

My birthday was last week, and a couple days ago my dad bought this ENORMOUS beautiful raspberry strawberry white chocolate cake (oh my god right?). I am really proud of myself. I have only had two pieces in four days. I actually haven’t been eating too much, and when I do eat I try to make sure it’s mostly protein. Starting back on Stage 1 tomorrow! Anyone who wants birthday cake, come get it, there’s way too much left and I refuse to eat another bite of it.

I was on vacation so long that I forgot to keep updating my blog when I got back! Oops!

Well I’m happy to report that I went shopping today and dropped two whole dress sizes! I still felt very limited by my options (small chest + big belly = bad combination), but I was able to find one single dress that I liked that was fairly flattering and was comfortable and affordable (even though I had to go to three different places to find it!). I bought some new shoes too, and now I’m ready for my birthday party this weekend!

My dad got a huge birthday cake for me today. It’s delicious, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t possibly have that much sugar in the house! I’m going to be giving out pieces as often as possible, to get rid of it quickly so I’m not tempted. I was proud of myself for doing that very thing this week: after I baked a very decadent dessert for a dinner party I threw, I willed myself not to eat too much of it (I wrapped it in tinfoil so I wouldn’t be looking at it all the time), then gave it to my boyfriend to take home for his family. Go me!

So I’m back home and finally have a scale. I’m officially the same weight I was when I left. I consider that a win, it’s really hard not to gain weight on vacation, especially when you eat at restaurants as much as Grant and I did and ESPECIALLY when it’s your birthday. But electing to take half my food home whenever I go out, and rarely ever ordering dessert, has paid off.

And it doesn’t hurt that there’s all those hills and walking around to do.

Starting tomorrow I’ll be able to count calories again and hopefully start losing again soon. My boyfriend, who just graduated and moved back home, and I are going to be signing up for dance classes. That will help shed the pounds too. He’s been dieting with me, and we’ve both gone down a size. Yay!

I’m in Santa Cruz visiting my boyfriend. Whenever I visit it’s a special occasion because we so rarely get to see each other (although in two weeks he’s graduating and moving back home so that won’t be an issue anymore!), so we tend to eat out a lot. Today was our first day together and I was impressed with myself. For dinner we got Indian food, I only ate half the dish and took the rest home, and for dessert we got this little piece of heaven:

Cold Stone Sinless Sans Fat Sweet Cream ice cream, mine with raspberries and his with blueberries. I think we both agreed that the raspberries were by far better than the blueberries, and the ice cream is delicious on its own too. I expected it to be bland but it tasted almost like cake batter.

We did some shopping at the local organic store (which is every store in Santa Cruz) to last us a couple days, and on Wednesday we’re going to the grocery store to pick up lots of healthy foods to make at home. I’m going to try to make a habit of cooking instead of eating out for special events. It’s a lot cheaper AND healthier.

Stay posted in the next few days. My boyfriend LOVES my quiches so I’ll be posting some of those soon I’m sure!